The ACC preseason picture is starting to come into focus, and Virginia Tech sits right in the middle of the conversation.
As the offseason gives way to fall camp across the country, the Hokies are set to shift into preseason mode on Wednesday, August 5. To mark that turning point, Evan G. Watkins, Matej Sis, Doug Bowman, Haden Tolbert, Jacob Maggard, and I each put together individual ACC rankings, which were then blended into a consensus VTSCOOP poll.
At the top, Miami stands alone. The Hurricanes were the clear No. 1 choice in the conference, with no debate about their place in the poll.
After that, the rankings opened up in a big way. No other team was unanimous anywhere near the same level, and the middle of the conference looks far less settled.
Here’s how the full VTSCOOP poll came out:
Miami
SMU
Louisville
Clemson
Virginia Tech
NC State
California
Virginia
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Duke
Syracuse
Wake Forest
Boston College
North Carolina
Stanford
Virginia Tech landed at No. 5 in the consensus, but the individual ballots showed a wider spread. The Hokies were slotted as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 7, which says plenty about how differently they’re being viewed heading into the season.
That split lines up with the outside projections, too. In the ACC media poll released earlier this week, Virginia Tech was picked to finish eighth. CBS Sports and USA Today were more optimistic, both projecting the Hokies to land fifth - the same spot they held in the VTSCOOP consensus.
So while the expectations around Virginia Tech are all over the map, the one constant is clear enough: James Franklin’s first season in charge is going to draw plenty of attention. Virginia Tech is shaping up as one of the conference’s most intriguing teams to follow as the year unfolds.
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